Topography in Kerry
Westward a few miles, across the deep gash in which lies the Upper Lake of Killarney, Macgillicuddys Recks rise head and shoulders above the surrounding sea of hills. Those arc a beautiful group of lofty cones, with steep sides and many imposing cliff ranges, and deep coombs in which lie dark tarns. The loftiest, Carrantuohill, the highest mountain in Ireland, attains 3414 ft., and several of the other peaks exceed 3000 ft. At the cast end of the Reeks the famous Gap of Dunloe, through which a road runs, separates them from the Purple Mountain group which looks down on the Lower Lake.
Running south-west from the Reeks, an irregular chain of peaks of over 2000 ft. forms a barrier almost to the extremity of the promontory at Derrynane. Lower ground along the north-western base of this ridge allows a road to traverse the whole length of the promontory in a parallel direction. North of this line again high hills rise and stretch on to the coast of Dingle Bay.
The low limestone depression that runs from Killarney to the sea at Dingle Bay zigzags back eastward to Castle-island and back again to the sea at Tralce.
Westward from this valley, and quite cut off from the continuous mass of mountains which have just been dealt with, a wild mountain chain protrudes far into the Atlantic, terminating in the Blasket Islands, which are themselves steep mountain peaks rising out of the ocean. For 45 miles this highland extends, with a breadth of 6 to 12 miles. The hills divide themselves into three groups : in the east Slieve Mish (2796 ft.), in the centre the Beenoskee group (2713 ft.), and beyond that the glorious knife-edge ridge of Brandon (3127 ft.).
Inland, to the east of the Dingle promontory, a large area of rather low, boggy hills extends over parts of Kerry, Cork, and Limerick, stretching northward to the Shannon. Many flattish summits rise to from 1000 to 1400 ft. The district is rather desolate, and the soft, shaly rocks produce no features of interest. The same type of surface is continued northward across the Shannon into Central Clare. Continuing northward we enter, in the barony of Burren, a very different and extremely interesting upland.
The Burren is formed of limestone hills of about 1000 ft. in height (Slieve Elva rises to 1134 ft.). As viewed from a distance, their outlines are gently rounded, hut among the hills some deep passes and lofty cliff ranges are to be found. The feature which gives this upland its peculiar character is the limestone that almost everywhere is quite bare of covering. For mile after mile the grey rock, its surface seamed and carved by rain into fantastic shapes, lies open to the sky. The beds lie horizontally, and terrace rises above terrace.
The rain sinks into innumerable deep fissures which seam the rock, and streams or standing water are almost absent from the area : the drainage is underground, and in places the water may be seen gushing from the rocks at sea-level. So damp is the climate that the absence of soil and stream does not prevent a luxuriant vegetation from nourishing wherever a little vegetable mould has been left ; and the bare country is actually in much demand for sheep-grazing, so sweet and abundant are the grasses which spring from every chink. The vegetation includes a large number of very interesting plants
Starting at the boundary of Clare and Galway, on Galway Bay, a low coast with deep indentations, after the manner of the limestone, leads to Ballyvaughan, a village situated in a sheltered bay, from which a steamer connection with Galway is maintained-a necessary accommodation, as the nearest railway station (Ardrahan) is i() miles distant. Around Bally-vaughan and westward to the Atlantic, and filling the greater part of the barony of Burren, there rise the hills whose strange appearance catches the eye of the traveller at Galway or on the moors of southern Connemara. They are formed of bare limestone, rising terrace above terrace over many miles to a height of 1000 ft. or more. A good road follows the coast westward along the shore, which towards Black Head becomes steep. Rounding tlie headland, which marks the entrance of Galway Bay, we see the Aran Islands, which are low shelves of the same limestone rock, and which give us a measure of the former extent of this formation. Though geologically a part of Clare, these islands belong politically to Galway, and are dealt with in the Connaught volume of the present series.
Beyond Fisherstreet the limestone gives way to beds of shale and flagstones, and the coast rises into the finest range of cliffs to be found in Ireland.
The grand rock-wall, known as the Cliffs of Moher, extends for several miles along the coast, attaining an elevation of over 650 ft. On account of the tabular nature of the rock the top is flat, and one can safely approach the edge and look down the great perpendicular wall to where the Atlantic swell surges round its base. Several tall outlying pinnacles rising from the water enhance the effect.
Beyond the Cliffs of Moher there is a sharp indentation of the coast, forming Liscannor Bay, in which stands the little watering-place of Lahinch. Thence a storm-swept rocky coast, with occasional sandy bays, trends south-westward for nearly 40 miles to Loop Head. Towards the south, where stands Kilkee, much frequented by summer visitors, dark cliffs of shale, fantastically carved by the sea, prevail.
Between Loop Head and Kerry (Holiday Apartments, Kerry, Ireland) Head, which projects 10 miles to the southward, the great estuary of the Shannon opens. From its mouth to Limerick, where the river ceases to be tidal, the distance is 54 miles. During the greater part of this distance the Shannon maintains a breadth of from I to 3 miles. In the lower part of the estuary the gravelly shores arc diversified and 
picturesque, with many villages along the waters edge; while further up the land on either side is lower, its banks become muddy, and great areas of marshy pasture fringe the river. Two-thirds way up on the northern shore the wide muddy estuary of the Fergus opens out, studded with islands. The Fergus itself is quite a small stream, but its estuary, which is a flooded limestone lowland, .would do credit to a large river. As a result of the marshy nature of the lands bordering the Shannon in the upper part of the estuary, the towns and villages arc no longer situated on its banks, but lie some miles back from the river till we come to Limerick, where the ground on either side is firm.
For communication between Limerick and the many villages along the estuary, this fine waterway is availed of, and steamers run along its whole length. Half-way down its southern bank, Foynes is connected by rail with Limerick. Far down the northern shore a narrow-gauge line (the West Clare Railway) runs from Kilrush northward, and connects by a circuitous route with Ennis.
Crossing the Shannon southward we enter the county of Kerry. Ballybunnion, which faces across to Loop Head, is the terminus of the mono-rail line that runs inland to Listowel. Kerry (Hotels, Kerry, Ireland) Head is a high promontory greatly exposed to the ocean. Thence a low indented coast leads past the deep-water pier at Fenit to Tralee, an important town at the head of the shallow Traice Bay.
Westward from Tralee stretches the most northern of the great mountain promontories which lend such grandeur to the scenery of Kerry (Accommodation, Kerry, Ireland) and West Cork. The origin and meaning of these has been touched on already in the general description of the province, and is more fully explained in the section devoted to Geology. The Dingle promontory is joined to the main mass of the land by a low depression filled with limestone ; a rise of 100 ft. in the level of the sea would convert it into an island. The northern shore of the promontory is exceedingly varied, the leading features being the long Castlegregory peninsula, where low limestone reefs run far into the sea ; and the huge precipices where Brandon drops into the ocean. The Blasket Islands, off the end of the promontory, are high and rugged, and are tenanted by a very primitive community. The south shore includes two safe land-locked harbours at Ventry and Dingle : on the shores of the latter stands the town of Dingle, an important fishing centre.
The upper end of Dingle Bay, which separates this from the next mountain promontory, is shallow, almost closed by sand-dunes, and much encumbered by sand-banks : it is known as Castlemaine Harbour.
Next, repeating many of the features of the Dingle promontory, a wilderness of mountains and lakes, 18 miles across and twice that in length, intervenes between Dingle Bay and Kenmare river. A line of railway runs down its northern shore through Cahercivcen to Valencia Harbour. Valencia Island, which lies close inshore, is well known as the terminus of several of the transatlantic telegraph cables. From Valencia a beautifully wild coast continues to the entrance of the Kenmare river, which is not a river at all, but a long, deep, tapering sea-inlet running in through the mountains for about 27 miles. The town of Sneem, and Parknasilla with its large hotel, stand on its northern shore. At the head is Kenmare, a busy market town, and the terminus of a branch railway from the main line to Killarney